When traffic jam pays the bills

You will notice that in all the honking, shouting and crazed frenzy of cars dragging a few feet of space, you see a number of persons laden with different kinds of goods darting around the cars. These people are so adept at dodging in between cars as they try to sell their wares. Even the […]

You will notice that in all the honking, shouting and crazed frenzy of cars dragging a few feet of space, you see a number of persons laden with different kinds of goods darting around the cars. These people are so adept at dodging in between cars as they try to sell their wares. Even the fabled James Bond would be fascinated by their antics.  Occasionally, they offer you various items to purchase. You might have even bought water to cool your parched throat; a handkerchief to wipe your sweaty face; or any other item. Their antics are so fascinating that the bored motorist or commuter finds them a much needed distraction. Among them are young children who hawk mainly sachet water, plantain chips and other snacks. The older ones have more diverse kinds of goods ranging from car accessories to CD and DVD plates, clocks, children’s toys amongst other things.

 

Anybody will agree without doubt that traffic hold-ups are a menace. However, it is the means by which these peoples pay their bills; a precarious way to earn a living you might say. They do not have the capital to rent shops so they opt for the easier but riskier option of hawking in the hold-up where the only tax they pay is to mother nature. Hours and hours on end, they run back and forth after customers in moving vehicles.

Our reporter was with them in one of the spots notorious for enduring traffic build-ups, the AYA junction, Asokoro.

Stanley Okechukwu summed up their situation saying that to them, the hold-up is synonymous with their daily bread.

He said, “when there is no hold up, we go to a place and start sleeping and when the hold-up starts, we come back and make sales.”

He added that they do not have fixed shops because of the difficulty in getting enough money to rent a shop. “We are always very happy when there is hold up because customers patronize us a lot,” he added.

Obinna Nwankwo has sold caps in the traffic hold-ups for a long while. He explained that it is the wish of those hawking there to own shops fingering the huge capital to rent a shop in Abuja as the problem.

“We try to get something reasonable before we get a shop,” he said.

Rabi’u sells snacks and drinks and he expressed delight in the traffic situation saying, “when there is hold up, I make a lot of sales and I am happy.”

The view expressed by Jamilu who sells handkerchiefs is no different. According to him, “when there is no go slow, I look for a place to sit and rest. My work is in the traffic and I must confess that I am very happy with the traffic situation.”

According to Simon who sells car chargers, “I sell car chargers and I do feel bad when there is no hold up because there is no other place that I can benefit from apart from the hold up.”

“If there is no hold up, I don’t sell. I feel very happy when there is hold up. When there is no hold up, I don’t make anything but when there is hold up I make a lot,” said Evans a newspaper vendor.

Once in awhile, an unlucky one gets shortchanged as a customer drives away without paying for what they have bought. The sun under which they ply their trade is in itself a hazard. Melanoma, a deadly skin cancer is mainly caused by over-exposure to the rays of the sun and this is only one of the diseases that can be caused or advanced by continuous exposure to the sun’s rays. The hazards that they face on the road go beyond the risk of losing their goods to dubious customers. The occasional accident is another, a serious one at that.

Some of the people who patronize them also spoke to our reporter. They all expressed indignation at the traffic situation and spoke differently about the hawkers.

Dotun Philips said he has nothing against the street hawker. In his words, “because of the situation in the country and the economy, they don’t have a choice. I prefer buying some stuff like this from the hold up because I’m a busy person.”

Hajiya Hadiza, a Head Teacher had to park her car to cool the engine which had overheated because of the hold-up. She said, “the hawkers even helped me now because of my car’s overheating, I had to buy pure-water worth N100 to cool the engine. There is an advantage.”

For Jeffrey Agbo, the risks taken by the hawkers are too serious to be overlooked. The combined risk of being caught by the Abuja Task Force and getting knocked down by vehicles in the process of escaping from the authorities are very grave. That is not the way it’s not supposed to be. “People should have legitimate means of livelihood. Not necessarily when one is under the sun and running up and down because it has a lot of risks. A lot of risks are involved,” he said.

In the view of Mr  Lawrence, “it is good in a way but it doesn’t give a good image of the country.”

Mrs Agbi called the business a death trap. “The hold-up is terrible. I don’t think it is the best way of making their livelihood because in the course of it, many are dying,” she said, “Sometimes they knock them down and they don’t even wait to pick them up.”

A few minutes later, a driver suddenly lost control of his truck almost crushing our reporter and the hawker he was interviewing. Luckily, nobody was injured but the truck ran over Rabi’u’s bicycle and all his wares. He was lucky to have escaped being crushed as he was astride the bicycle seconds before the truck overran it. A quarrel ensued between the driver and the hawkers over the damaged goods which was worth quite a substantial amount.

This event really confirmed what Mrs Agbi and Mr Jeffrey Agbo said. Suffice it to say here despite the risks they face, the hawkers do not seem to be ready to leave.

One of the hawkers, Anthony, said it was not their desire to sell there saying, “It is God  whothat is saving us from the hazards. If you sell and make some money, you can start another business. I will not always be selling on the hold up.”

“I think the best place for them to make their living is to go to  the market place,” Mr. Agbi advised but the hawkers say it is not easy to own a shop due to the high prices for which they go.

Many people have expressed at various times, the need to stop street hawking. In fact, there is a special task force established to rid the streets of them. However, some people who have benefited from their presence have advised otherwise.

Mr Agbo is one of them and he said, “On the one hand, I’m not encouraging the government to stop them because they don’t have what to do and again, I’m not saying it is proper.”

“It all depends on our government; they should look into things and help them,” he added.

The question that comes to fore therefore, is what will these people do to earn a living if chased off the streets or where will they go when the expansion of the roads are completed. This is an issue that the government will look into as a lot depends on its action or inaction.

Meanwhile, next time you are caught in a traffic jam, don’t fret much. Just consider it part of your contribution to the lives of some as hawkers whose source of livelihood depends on your predicament. Indeed, this underlines the famous saying, “one man’s food is another’s poison.”